Ball mixer and dispenser



Oct. 18, 1955 T. .1. ALLAIN BALL MIXER AND DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 27, 1953 lr ilwlrul IN V EN TOR.

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1955 T. J. ALLAIN BALL MIXER AND DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 27, 1953 INVENTOR. x AMLA/A;

HO/W146 United States Patent BALL MIXER AND DISPENSER Thomas J. Allain, New Orleans, La.

Application March 27, 1953, Serial No. 345,214

Claims. (11. 273-144 This invention relates to ball mixing and dispensing devices, and more particularly to a device for mixing and dispensing of game balls such as numbered or otherwise marked balls used in games such as lotto, keno and bingO'57 A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved mixing and dispensing device for use in games such as lotto, keno, bingo, and the like, the improved device being simple in construction, being easy to operate, and being relatively compact in size.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ball mixing and dispensing device for mixing and dispensing numbered balls, the device being arranged so that the operator may remove one ball at a time from a group of balls placed in the device, the device being inexpensive to construct, being rugged, being relatively light in weight, and being easy to refill after the supply of balls originally contained therein has been dispensed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an improved ball mixer and dispenser constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the mixing and dispensing device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross sectional detail view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the improved mixing and dispensing device is shown generally at 11 and comprises a rectangular housing 12 having an upper portion which is substantially circular in shape, said upper portion being shown at 13. The circular portion 13 has the top wall 14, said wall being provided with the circular, removable cover 15, said cover having the central handle 15', whereby the cover may be at times lifted from its seat to provide access to the interior of the circular housing portion 13. The lower rectangular housing body 12 is provided with a top wall 16, and rotatably mounted on the wall 16 is the turntable 17, said turntable being therefore located in the circular housing 13 and having its periphery extending adjacent the inside surface of said circular housing. The turntable 17 has the shaft 18 which extends rotatably through a depending bearing sleeve 19 formed centrally in the horizontal wall 16, and secured to the lower end of the shaft 18 is the beveled gear 20. Beveled gear 20 meshes with a smaller beveled gear 21 carried on the shaft of an electric motor 22 mounted in the rectangular lower housing portion 12. The motor 22 is connected through a switch 23 to a suitable source of power by a line cord 24. The switch 23 is mounted in a corner portion of the top wall 16 of the rectangular housing portion 12, and is exposed in the 2,721,083 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 manner illustrated in Figure 1, whereby it may be readily manipulated by the operator of the device.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the turntable 17 is formed centrally with the upstanding conical member 25 which serves to deflect balls away from the center of the turntable when the device is operating. The circular top cover 15 is preferably made of transparent material, such as transparent plastic or the like, whereby the interior of the circular housing 13 is visible at all times so that the operator may determine whether the supply of balls on the turntable requires replenishment.

The circular housing 13 is formed with the outwardly projecting casing element 26, said casing element being formed with a radial bore in which is slidably mounted a plunger 27, said plunger having the outwardly projecting handle 28 and being biased outwardly by a coiled spring 29. As shown in Figure 4, one end of the coiled spring 29 is connected to a pin 30 on the plunger 27, and said coiled spring engages around a pulley wheel 31 rotatably supported on a vertical stud 32 threadedly engaged through the top wall of the easing 26. The opposite end of the spring 29 is connected to a pin 33 depending downwardly from the top wall of the casing 26, the depending pin 33 being located a substantial distance inwardly from the wheel 31, whereby the spring 29 exerts an outward force on the plunger 27. Outward movement of the plunger 27 is limited by the engagement of a lug 34 on the plunger with the rim 35 of the casing bore, said rim closely engaging around the reduced handle portion 28 of the plunger. The plunger 27 is movable inwardly, inward movement thereof being limited by the engagement of the lug 34 with a shoulder 36 formed in the plunger bore.

The inner end portion of the plunger 27 is formed with a rounded, ball-receiving notch or pocket 37. When the plunger is moved inwardly, the ball-receiving notch 37 faces in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the portion of turntable 17 subadjacent thereto, whereby a ball may be caught in the notch 37 as the balls are whirled on the turntable by centrifugal force.

The casing 26 is formed subadjacent the inner portion of the plunger 27 with a ball discharge passage 38 communicating with the plunger bore and registering with the notch 37 when the plunger 27 is in its normal position, shown in the drawings. Integrally secured to the casing 26 in communication with the ball discharge passage 38 is the downwardly inclined trough 39 into which a ball discharged from the notch 37 will descend after dropping through the passage 38, as will be clearly apparent from Figure 5. The trough 39 is formed in one of its side walls adjacent the end wall 40 thereof with a notch 41 facilitating the removal of a ball deposited in the trough 39.

Designated at 42 is a leaf spring of arcuate shape which is secured at 43 to the inside surface of the circular housing 13 beyond the plunger bore in the direction of rotation of the turntable 17, the spring 42 extending spirally inwardly over the turntable in said direction of rotation, as shown in Figure 4. When the turntable is rotated, the balls, shown at 44 are whirled around the turntable and engage with the baffle spring 42, Whereby the balls are thoroughly mixed and redistributed responsive to the continuous rotation of the turntable 17. To select a ball, the user merely presses the plunger 27 inwardly by means of its handle 28, whereby a ball is caught in the ball-receiving notch 37. The user then releases the handle 28, allowing the notch 37 to be moved by spring 29 to its normal position wherein the notch 37 registers with the passage 38, allowing the ball to drop into passage 38 and roll downwardly through trough 39 7 3 to its final position at the end of the trough from which it may be manually removed.

The turntable 17 rotates constantly and is not stopped for the removal of a ball, thus the entire number of balls are always in motion and are constantly being mixed and churned together.

As above explained, the balls are replaced when needed by removing the top cover 15, providing access to the interior of the circular housing 13.

From the foregoing. it will be apparent that there has been provided a device for random selection of a game ball from a group of game balls 44 which comprises a turntable 17 upon which the group of balls are supported for movement thereon, a plunger 27 having a ball-receiving pocket therein adapted to be projected into the path of a ball moving on the turntable and to catch the ball therein, and a collection trough 39 adapted to communicate with the ball-receiving pocket 37 whereby a ball caught in the pocket can be deposited in the trough for manual removal therefrom.

Further, the device presently disclosed for random selection of a game ball from a group of game balls may be considered to comprise a turntable 17 upon which the group of balls are rollingly supported and which is mounted in a housing 12 for continuous rotation in an arcuate path, a plunger having a ball-receiving pocket therein carried by the housing for movement in a rectilinear path in whichthe ball-receiving pocket intersects the path of movement of the ball so that the ball is received and caught in the pocket 37, the housing 12 also having a collection trough 39 thereon and a discharge passage 33 communicating with the trough at one end thereof, the pocket 37 being registrable with the other end of the discharge passage 38 as it is moved in its rectilinear path so that the ball received in the pocket will enter the passage 38 and be deposited in the trough 39.

Whilea specific embodiment of an improved ball mixing and dispensing device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for mixing game balls to be dispensed singly comprising a housing, a turntable rotatably mounted in said housing, drive means coupled to said turntable, a plunger casing secured to said housing, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing, said plunger being movable into said housing over the peripheral portion of saidturntable, said plunger being formed with a ball-receiving notch at its inner end facing in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the portion of the turntable subadjacent thereto, said housing being formed with a ball discharge passage with which said notch is registrable when the plunger is moved outwardly, and a collection secured to said casing and communicating with said passage.

2. A device for mixing game balls to be dispensed singly comprising a housing, a turntable rotatably mounted in said housing, drive means coupled to said turntable, a plunger casing secured to said housing, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing for radial movement relative to said housing, said plunger being movable into said housing over the peripheral portion of said turntable, said plunger being formed with a ball-receiving notch at its inner end facing in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the portion of the turntable subadjacent thereto, spring means biasing the plunger outwardly, said housing being formed with a ball discharge passage with which said notch is registrable when the plunger is moved outwardly by said spring means, and a downwardly inclined collection trough secured to said casing subadjacent to and communicating with said passage.

3. A device for mixing game balls to be dispensed singly comprising a housing, a turntable rotatably mounted in said housing, drive means coupled to said turntable, a plunger casing secured to said housing, a plunger slidably mounted in said casing for radial movement relative to said housing, said plunger being movable into said housing over the peripheral portion of said turntable,

said plunger being formed with a ball-receiving notch at its inner end facing in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the portion of the turntable subadjacent thereto, spring means biasing the plunger outwardly, said housing being formed with a ball discharge passage with which said notch is registrable when the plunger is moved outwardly by said spring means, a downwardly inclined collection trough secured to said casing subadjacent to and communicating with said passage, and an arcuate baflle strip of spring material secured to the inside surface of said housing beyond said plunger and extending spirally inwardly over said turntable in the direction of rotation of the turntable.

4. A device for random selection of a game ball from a group of game balls comprising a housing, a turntable upon which the group of balls are rollingly supported mounted in said housing for continuous rotation in an arcuate path, a plunger having a ball-receiving pocket therein carried by said housing for movement in a rectilinear path so that the pocket intersects the path of movement of a ball whereby the ball is caught in said pocket, said housing having a collection trough thereon and hav-' ing a discharge passage therein communicating with said trough at one end thereof, said pocket being registrable with the other end of said passage as it is moved in its rectilinear path so that the ball received in the pocket will enter said passage and be deposited in said trough.

5. A device for random selection'of a game ball from a group of game balls comprising a housing, a turntable upon which the group of balls are rollingly supported mounted in said housing for continuous rotation in an arcuate path, a plunger having a ball-receiving pocket therein carried by said housing for movement in a rectilinear path so that the pocket intersects the path of movement of a ball whereby the ball is caught in said pocket, said housing having a collection trough thereon and having a discharge passage therein communicating with said trough at one end thereof, said pocket being registrable with the other end of said passage as it is moved in its rectilinear path so that the ball received in the pocket will enter said passage and be deposited in said trough, said turntable having a centrally upstanding conical member serving to deflect the balls of the group away from the center of the turntable as it moves in its arcuate path.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES'PATENTS 1,876,128 Almada Sept. 6, 1932' 1,977,814 Warner Oct. 23, 1934 2,003,979 Skoric June-4, 1935 2,499,557 Anderson Mar. 7, 1950 

